Freezer compartment door



Sept. 11, 1956 E. T. MORTON 2,762,676

FREEZER COMPARTMENT DOOR Filed Nov. 28, 1950 s sheets-sheet 1 all N INVEN TOR. VAN5 7. Maero/v BY %./a1.

HIS ATTORNEY 5 E. T; MORTON FREEZER COMPARTMENT DOOR Sept. 11, 1956 3 Shee tsSheet 2 Filed Nov. 28, 1950 ATTORNEY Sept. 11, 1956 E. T. MORTON 2,762,676

FREEZER COMFARTMENT DOOR Filed Nov. 28. 1950 s Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN TOR. EVA? 7. MOZTO/V BY yta W HAS ATTOE/VE) United States Patent FREEZER COMPARTMENT noon Evans T. Morton, Galesburg, Ill., assignor to Admiral Corporation, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Application November 28, 1956, Serial No. 197,917

4 Claims. (Cl. 312-329) This invention relates to refrigerator doors, and more particularly to doors for the freezing compartment of a household refrigerator.

Many present day household refrigerators have large storage space for frozen articles. This space is usually formed as a compartment extending the full Width of the top of the refrigerator. The evaporator for the refrigerant customarily surrounds this compartment. In order to preserve the low temperature within this compartment in spite of opening and closing of the main refrigerator door, it is desirable to have a separate insulated closure for the compartment. This may take the form of a single door hinged at the bottom or of multiple doors hinged at the sides.

My present invention pertains particularly to the latter type of closure and is directed to a novel construction of the door which is economical, both in manufacture and assembly, and is adaptable for use with different types of springs. This latter feature may be desirable because of the location of the hinges of the auxiliary doors. The door having its hinge line on the same side of the cabinet will preferably be retained in either the open or the closed position. This facilitates removal of food from the freezer. The door having its hinge opposite the main door, however, will preferably always be urged to a closed position so that if the main door should be closed, the smaller door will not be open and obstruct the closing of the main door. Thus, the use of two types of springs for the auxiliary doors is indicated. By my invention, the doors can be made identical, or mirror images of each other, and still be adapted to be used with either of the two proposed types of spring.

A more complete understanding of my invention and the invention itself will be disclosed in the following description and the drawings which form a part of this specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the top part of a refrigerator with the large door removed embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an isometric View of the inner or back part of the door;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view of the assembled door taken in the region of line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view similar to Fig. 3 taken at line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view along the line 5-5 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 6 is a partial view of an embodiment of my invention with a part of the door broken away to show one type of spring;

Fig. 7 is a partial sectional view along line 77 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a partial top plan view of the door of my invention with parts being broken away to show an alternate type of spring with the door shut;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8- with the door open; and

2,762,676 Patented Sept. 11, 1956 Fig. 10 is a rear elevational view of a portion of the door showing the alternate spring.

Briefly, my invention comprises a door formed primarily of two pieces of molded plastic material which may be easily assembled and disassembled. These pieces are held together by locking inter-engagement of formations on the two pieces. A hinge is provided between the door and a hinge piece, and the door and hinge piece are formed to allow use of either of two types of spring. One of the springs is adapted to bias the door always to a shut position. The other is formed to hold the door in either a full open or a shut position.

More specifically, and referring to the figures, my invention is applied specifically to a refrigerator having a food compartment liner 10 and a full width freezer chest 11 spaced from the chest sufliciently for the evaporator coils 9 to lie therebetween. Between the liner and chest and the outer shell 12, the customary insulation compartment 13, covered by breaker strips 14, is provided. A large door, not shown, closes the entire cabinet in a manner well known in the art.

A pair of small doors 17 are provided to close the freezer chest 11. It is to a particular construction of these doors that my invention is directed. These doors are preferably insulated to preserve the low temperature in the compartment 11 even though the large door may be opened frequently. It will be obvious that, if the large door is hinged on the right hand side of the cabinet, the smaller door on the left should always be biased to a closed position to prevent slamming the large door against an edge of the smaller one and thus mutilating it. Similarly, the right hand small door 17 can be held open by a spring since closing the large door will necessarily urge the smaller door 17 closed. Thus, it is apparent is desirable to use two different springs. It is also desirable that these may be used on similar doors. This is made possible by my invention.

The doors 17 are made in two parts formed of a molded plastic material such as polystyrene. The back part 20, Fig. 2, is somewhat dish shaped and may be formed with a ridge 21 for clearance purposes if necessary. Around the periphery of the back part on three sides, a series of catch members 22 are formed. Between each pair of these members, abutment stops 23 are provided. As best shown in Fig. 3, each of the catch members engages a shouldered hollow 24 in the front piece 25 while small hollows 26 in the edge of the front piece 25 engage the stops 23. Thus, the two pieces are securely held in place by this engagement. Because the type of material used is somewhat resilient, the front part 25 may be sprung away from the catch members sufiiciently at the top and bottom of the door to be readily removed, if desired for any reason, simply by moving the front piece slightly away from the hinge line to release the catch members opposite the hinge. The air space between the two pieces, and the material used for the door assure good insulation characteristics for a door of this construction.

At the edge of the back where no catch nor stop members are formed, a hinge is provided. This hinge is best shown in Figs. 5-7 and is formed by a rod 30 passing through hinge bosses 31 on the back 20 of the door and bosses 32 on a mounting or hinge member 33. Clearance for the bosses 32 is provided in the back piece 20 by a sloping formation 34 leaving a hollow 35 into which the boss 32 will fit. The wide spread between these bosses 32 allows the use of the two presently contemplated types of spring.

As noted above, it is desirable that the left hand door in Fig. 1 always be biased to .a closed position. This is only true for a refrigerator where the door is hinged on the right hand side. It will be understood that for left hand hinged doors, the reverse "would be true.

This is most readily accomplished by a coil spring 38 which may conveniently be located about the hinge pin 30. One end 39 of the spring seats in a slight groove formed in the back piece 20 between the clearance formation 34- and a small boss 40. The other end 42 may conveniently extend through an opening 43 in the mounting piece 33 and be caught behind the edge 44 thereof. As shown, any tendency to move the part 20 in a direction toward the observer while holding piece 33 stationary will be resisted by the spring 38. Similarly, if the door should be opened, the spring 38 will be effective to close it again as soon as it is released.

Theright hand door in Fig. 1 for purposes of convenience may be of a type which is held in either an open or closed position. To accomplish this, a novel spring 48 best shown in Figs. 8-10 is provided. This spring is formed from a fiat piece of spring metal bent as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. As there shown, the spring at one end is hooked over a ridge 49 on the mounting piece 33 and is held thereon by the hook formation of the spring. From the hook, the spring extends with a flat portion 51 along the mounting piece 33 to a point adjacent the hinge line where the spring is formed with a wide how 52. From the bow, the spring extends in a second leg 53 having some curvature reversed from the bow 52 to a bent end 54. The leg 53 extends through the opening 43 formed in the mounting in which the coil spring of the right hand door is engaged, and the end 54 is adapted to slide on a wall 57 of an opening 58 formed in the back piece 20.

In the closed position (Fig. 8) it will be noted that any tendency of the spring to narrow the bowed part 52 will be effective to urge the hinge member 33 more towards the closed position, with the hinge member 33 substantially in line with the door. The bent end 54 also tends to hold the door in closed position by its engagement with the edge of the wall 57. As the door is opened, the bent end 54 is disengaged from the edge and slides along the wall 57. This movement is induced primarily by the engagement of the spring member 48 with the hinge member 33 in the region of the bend at 49. As the door is opened further, the pressure line of the spring, that is the line between the points where the spring exerts its compressive effects, passes to the side of the hinge line where the pressure is effective to snap the door open, or to hold the door open against a stop. The bent end 54 engages the edge of the wall and thereby prevents the spring 48 from slipping out of place.

Thus, it is seen that my invention I have constructed a door having excellent insulating characteristics, and adapted for use with either of two varieties of spring, one of ordinary form and the other a novel spring adapted to hold the door in either of its two limiting positions.

The door is adapted to be attached to the food compartment liner as shown in Fig. l. Rectangular openings 62 for this purpose are formed in the hinge member. Small abutment members 63 are also formed on the hinge member some distance on either side of the openings 62. Clips 64 of a type well known in the art, having an opening on one side and adapted to receive a screw thread on the other, are placed over the edge of the liner 1i) and the hinge or mounting member 33 between the abutments 63. Because the clip 64 is narrower than the space between these abutments, a certain amount of adjustment of the doors is available to counteract any variation in the refrigerator caused by manufacturing tolerances. Thus, a good fit is assured at all times. It will be noted that the hinge member 33 thus completely closes any gap which might be left between the food compartment liner 10 and the freezer chest or compartment 11, in addition to supporting the door.

Having thus described my invention, I am aware that numerous and extensive departures may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention. a

I claim: 1

1. In a refrigerator having a freezing compartment, door means for said compartment comprising a door member, a hinge member, said door member hinged to said hinge member, and spring means engaged between said door and hinge members adapted to bias said door to a plurality of positions, comprising a strip having a hook formed at one end embracing a ridge formed on said hinge member, a leg extending from said hook along said hinge member, a bowed part extending at an angle to said leg, a second leg extending from said bowed part through an opening in said hinge member, said door mem her being formed with an opening having a fiat wall defining at least one edge of said opening, said second leg extending into said opening along said fiat wall and adapted to slide along said fiat wall as said door is opened and closed to cause the pressure line of said spring to move from one side to the other of the hinge line between said door and hinge members.

2. In a refrigerator having a freezing compartment, door means for said compartment comprising a door member, a hinge member, said door member hinged to said hinge member, and spring means engaged between said door and hinge members adapted to bias said door to a plurality of positions, comprising a strip having a hook formed at one end embracing a ridge formed on said hinge member, a leg extending from said hook along said hinge member, a bowed part extending at an angle to said leg, a second leg extending from said bowed part through an opening in said hinge member, said door member being formed with an opening having a flat wall defining at least one edge of said opening, said second leg extending into said opening along said flat wall and adapted to slide along said flat wall as said door is opened and closed to cause the pressure line of said spring to move from one side to the other of the hinge line between said door and binge members, said spring having a bent end on said second leg adapted to catch on the edges of said flat wall.

3. In a refrigerator as defined in claim 1, and wherein the second leg of said strip is formed having a reversely curved portion relative to said bowed part.

4. In a refrigerator having a freezing compartment, door means for said compartment comprising a door member having spaced-apart pintle engaging bosses, a hinge member having vertically spaced pintle bosses intermediate the ends thereof, pintle means extending through said bosses to hingedly secure the door member and hinge member together, spring means engaged between the door and hinge member and biasing said door to a plurality of positions, comprising a strip having a hook formed at one end embracing a ridge formed on said hinge member, a leg extending from said hook along said hinge member, a bowed part extending at an angle to said leg, a second leg extending from said bowed part through an opening in said hinge member, said door member being formed with an opening having a flat wall defining at least one edge of said opening, said second leg extending into said opening along said flat wall and adapted to slide along said flat wall as said door is opened and closed to cause the pressure line of said spring to move from one side to the other of the hinge line between said door and hinge members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,120,370 Brown Dec. 8, 1914 1,297,910 Rhea Mar. 18, 1919 1,696,123 Packer Dec. 18, 1928 1,848,715 Hart Mar. 8, 1932 1,956,929 Rick May 1, 1934 (Other references on following page) UNITED STATES PATENTS Bales Aug. 14, 1934 Tinnerman May 5, 1936 Torrey Apr. 6, 1937 Peppas July 26, 1938 Geyer Feb. 13, 1940 Sykes Apr. 22, 1941 6 Berley Dec. 30, 1941 Bailey Nov. 3, 1942 Wild Dec. 1, 1942 El lsworth Jan. 9, 1945 Nave Oct. 16, 1951 Gifiord Oct. 14, 1952 

